Doctors say focus less on Ebola, more on 5 deadly infectious diseases already in Colorado

Doctors say there are five other diseases currently in Colorado that you should be more worried about than Ebola.

KMGH

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DENVER - Health officials in Colorado are getting plenty of worried phone calls concerning Ebola, but infectious disease doctors say there are five other diseases currently in the state that you should be more worried about.

"If you're going to be concerned about an infection killing you, great, let's focus on those infections that are much more likely to kill you here in Colorado," said Larry Wolk, with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

"Tuberculosis is probably the No. 1 killer in terms of infectious diseases across the world," said Dr. Michelle Barron, an infectious disease physician at University of Colorado Hospital.

Tuberculosis is already in Colorado. Two years ago, a student at Longmont High School spread TB to 120 other students, according to health officials.

Colorado is also in the middle of a whooping cough epidemic, in part, because some parents are choosing not to immunize their children against pertussis.

"The flu," said Barron. "I've been in ICU's when we've had really bad flu seasons and young, sometimes otherwise healthy individuals, die."

Flu season is just around the corner and it's far more likely you or someone you love could die from that infectious disease than from Ebola. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 36,000 people in the U.S. die each year from influenza.

"The likelihood of you getting Ebola is next to zero," said Barron.

The runner up on the list of infectious diseases to watch for is norovirus, also known as the cruise ship virus.

It is highly contagious and doctors told 7NEWS it's not usually fatal, but makes people feel like they're going to die.

The good news about all of these bad diseases is that they are all preventable -- including Ebola.

Doctors said instead of worrying about outbreaks, do what you can to stop them.

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.